Health
Americans need more sleep, less stress, experts say, as Gallup poll reveals troubling findings
Many Americans are getting too little sleep and have too much stress.
A new Gallup poll revealed 57% of adults would “feel better if they got more sleep,” while 42% said they get “as much sleep as they need.”
These findings have nearly reversed in the last decade, Gallup noted in a press release. The last measurement in 2013 found that 56% of Americans got the sleep they needed while 43% did not.
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Overall, however, Americans are getting fewer hours of sleep than they did in past decades.
In 1942, 59% of Americans were getting eight hours or more of sleep per night, while only 3% were getting five hours or less.
Fifty-seven percent of adults said they would “feel better if they got more sleep,” a new Gallup poll revealed. (iStock)
In 2024, only 25% of Americans get an average of eight hours of sleep, and 20% reported sleeping for five or less.
Young women are the least likely to get enough sleep, according to the study — with 36% of females versus 48% of males reporting getting enough shuteye.
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Sleep amounts for both men and women showed “significant declines from previous readings in 2013 and 2004,” according to Gallup — and are the lowest measured for each group to date.
The decline was found across all age groups, although young adults between ages 18 and 29 saw the smallest difference.
Stress-sleep connection
Gallup suggested that an uptick in stress could be driving this downward trend in sleep, as the American Psychological Association reports a “strong connection between stress and sleep quality.”
The poll showed that 63% of Americans who reported wanting more sleep also “frequently experience stress.”
Women are most likely to frequently experience stress, the Gallup poll found. (iStock)
“Over the past 30 years, the number of Americans who are stressed has been on a steady incline after a sharp drop in 2003,” Gallup reported.
“The most recent data show that nearly half of all Americans, 49%, report frequently experiencing stress — up 16 points over the past two decades and the highest in Gallup’s trend to date.”
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Young women are also most likely to frequently experience stress, “exceeding men their age by 14 points,” according to Gallup.
Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, confirmed this relationship between sleep and stress, calling it the “cycle of worry” during a Thursday appearance on “America’s Newsroom.”
Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, discussed the relationship between sleep and stress during a Thursday appearance on “America’s Newsroom.” He noted that exposure to the blue light of smartphone screens can keep people awake, among other issues. (Fox News)
“They’re connected,” he said.
“If you get more stressed, you don’t sleep; if you don’t sleep, you get more stressed.”
Siegel explained that “all of this spirals out of control,” since sleeplessness is often remedied with caffeine — yet caffeine “interferes with your sleep cycle.”
“If you get more stressed, you don’t sleep; if you don’t sleep, you get more stressed.”
The same goes for drinking alcohol before bed to induce sleep, which “wears off and you wake up in the middle of the night,” the doctor warned.
Exposure to the blue light of smartphone screens can keep people awake, Siegel said.
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“All of this is very bad for health,” he said. “It leads to heart disease, it increases your risk of stroke, it causes you to gain weight.”
For young women in particular, several factors could be causing them to lose sleep, including the use of social media, which can “feed anxiety,” Siegel said.
A potential fix to ending the sleep-stress cycle is practicing “sleep hygiene,” said one doctor, which includes sleeping in a dark room away from your cellphone. (iStock)
A potential fix for the sleep-stress cycle is practicing “sleep hygiene,” Siegel suggested, which includes sleeping in a dark room away from your cell phone.
“I treat stress and sleeplessness as the same thing,” he said. “That’s why I don’t believe in sleeping pills … You’re just covering up the problem.”
He added, “I want to get at why you’re worried and what I can do about the worry.”
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Dr. Wendy Troxel, a Utah-based sleep expert and senior behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation, told Fox News Digital in an interview that stress levels have remained “very high” since the COVID pandemic.
“[For] populations navigating multiple demands, including young people who are going to school or starting new jobs in this topsy-turvy world, it’s understandable that they are experiencing increases in stress, and that’s manifesting increases in sleep disturbances,” she said.
Dr. Wendy Troxel, senior behavioral scientist at RAND Corporation, is also the author of “Sharing the Covers: Every Couple’s Guide to Better Sleep” and scientific advisor for sleepfoundation.org. “As a culture,” she said, “we’ve become more aware of the importance of sleep over the past 10 years, which is a great thing.” (Diane Baldwin)
In some instances, Troxel pointed out, lack of sleep has been worn as a “badge of honor” to prove that people are busy or productive.
“But I think that that cultural misconception is starting to wane,” she said.
“The reality is, as a culture, we’ve just become more aware of the importance of sleep over the past 10 years, which is a great thing.”
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To break the “vicious cycle” of stress impacting sleep and vice versa, Troxel offered several tips, including maintaining a consistent sleep and wake schedule to ensure that stress doesn’t “invade your life.”
Incorporating a wind-down routine prior to bed can also bring down stress levels, the sleep expert noted.
These routines can involve relaxing activities such as deep breathing exercises, cuddling with a partner, journaling, doing gentle yoga or listening to music.
Wind-down activities before bed can include deep breathing exercises, cuddling with a partner, journaling, doing gentle yoga or listening to music. (iStock)
“It’s just about finding something that you can ritualize and do on a nightly basis to set the stage … to put aside all the demands and stress of the day and prepare for winding down and [going] to sleep,” Troxel said.
For people who wake up in the middle of the night due to stress, she advised getting out of bed, performing a wind-down activity and then returning to bed.
This technique, called stimulus control, prevents the brain from forming the habit of waking up at a certain time to ruminate on stressful thoughts.
“We all have occasional stress-related sleep disturbances, but if that starts happening night after night, it becomes habit-forming,” she said.
“And that’s where we see more chronic problems like insomnia. So, if you see that happening, treat it as a habit that your brain is learning — and break it.”
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A rare and potentially fatal tick-borne illness currently spreading across the United States can be traced back to a 1958 case involving a young boy on a farm.
The disease, known as Powassan virus, was named for the Ontario town near where it was first discovered.
At the time of his death, Lincoln Byers, a 4-year-old living in Canada, had a condition that medical professionals could not explain, the Boston Globe reported.
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Years later, researchers discovered a tick harboring the same virus on a dead squirrel, finally providing an answer to the tragedy, but foreshadowing a growing public health challenge.
While once considered an obscure medical anomaly, Powassan virus cases have reached historic highs in the U.S., data show.
Powassan is most prevalent from late spring through mid-fall, when tick populations peak and outdoor activity increases. (iStock)
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 76 Americans were diagnosed with the virus in 2025, the highest annual total on record. Previously, the U.S. averaged just seven to eight diagnoses each year.
The virus is primarily transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected woodchuck tick or deer tick. Like other tick-borne illnesses, Powassan is most prevalent from late spring through mid-fall, when tick populations peak and outdoor activity increases.
Public health experts warn that the virus’s transmission speed makes it uniquely dangerous.
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“One of the most dangerous aspects is its rapid transmission,” Dr. Jorge P. Parada, a medical advisor at the National Pest Management Association in Chicago, told Fox News Digital.
“Powassan can be transmitted in as little as 15 minutes after the infected tick bites, while Lyme disease usually requires a 36- to 48-hour attachment time for transmission.”
Powassan carries an incubation period of one to four weeks before symptoms manifest. (iStock)
Parada noted that while Powassan remains rare compared to Lyme disease, it poses clinical concern.
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Dr. Marc Siegel, senior medical analyst for Fox News, confirmed that the virus transmits significantly faster than Lyme disease. He noted that Powassan carries an incubation period of one to four weeks before symptoms manifest.
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Initial symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting and weakness, though some infected individuals remain asymptomatic, according to the CDC.
There are currently no specific medications or vaccines to treat or prevent Powassan virus. (iStock)
The virus can progress to severe neurological complications, including encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and meningitis (inflammation of the spinal cord membranes).
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In severe cases, patients may experience confusion, loss of coordination, difficulty speaking and seizures, per the CDC.
“One of the most dangerous aspects of it is its rapid transmission.”
Approximately 10% of Powassan cases involving severe neurological disease are fatal, and many survivors experience long-term neurological issues.
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There are currently no specific medications or vaccines to treat or prevent Powassan virus; clinical care is limited to supportive therapy, such as intravenous fluids and respiratory support.
While anyone can develop severe illness, those at the highest risk include children, older adults and immunocompromised individuals, experts caution.
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Americans today live roughly twice as long, on average, as they did when the Declaration of Independence was signed.
When the nation was founded in 1776, life expectancy was around 35 to 40 years old, historians estimate. However, someone who survived childhood in colonial America often lived into their 60s or even 70s.
Today, the average lifespan is about 79 years old, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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The improvement in lifespan over the centuries has been largely attributed to reduced deaths in infancy and from infectious diseases, multiple researchers have stated. Advances in sanitation, clean water, nutrition, vaccination and medical care have also contributed to lower mortality rates.
“Much of this vast discrepancy is related to the extremely high rates of infant, childhood and maternal mortality,” Dr. Omer Awan, physician and professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, told Fox News Digital.
Americans today live roughly twice as long, on average, as they did when the Declaration of Independence was signed. (Milan Markovic/iStock)
“Childbirth was dangerous, and without antibiotics and vaccines, many infectious diseases, such as measles, smallpox and pneumonia, were deadly,” he went on. “Now we have cleaner water and sanitation, vaccines and antibiotics that have significantly prolonged life.”
Advances in treatments of chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, cancer and diabetes have also significantly prolonged life, the Harvard-trained doctor noted.
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According to the CDC, improved prevention and treatment of high blood pressure has helped reduce deaths from heart disease and stroke, two of the nation’s leading causes of death.
Mia Kazanjian, MD, a Stanford-trained body and breast radiologist with an interest in longevity who is based in Greenwich, Connecticut, attributes the shorter life expectancy in the 1700s to suboptimal sanitation, poor hygiene and limited medical treatments.
Today, the average lifespan is about 79 years old, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (iStock)
“Many babies and children died from infections like dysentery, diphtheria, scarlet fever and pneumonia,” she told Fox News Digital. Children who survived into adulthood often succumbed to infections like tuberculosis, cholera and typhoid fever.
Maternal mortality has also fallen dramatically over the past century due to advances in antibiotics, blood transfusions and safer obstetric care, according to the CDC.
Milestones in public health
Kazanjian pointed to several key advancements over the centuries that contributed to longevity improvements, including the development of early municipal water systems that provided cleaner drinking sources.
“Sewer system networks were built, the first in Brooklyn in 1857,” she said. “These allowed people to drink clean water and dispose of waste. Indoor plumbing with toilets and bathrooms became more widespread.”
“Without antibiotics and vaccines, many infectious diseases, such as measles, smallpox and pneumonia, were deadly.”
At this time, people’s understanding of disease started to improve, and public health measures were developed to minimize risk.
During the late 1800s, germ theory became widely accepted in medicine and public health, helping shape the Sanitary Era, the expert said.
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“The Federal Quarantine Act of 1878 allowed the government to prevent spread of infection from out of the country, from epidemics like yellow fever,” she said. “Food safety regulations went into effect in 1906, when the Pure Food and Drug Act and Federal Meat Inspection Act were passed.”
By 1900, the average life expectancy was about 49 years old, according to the National Vitals Statistics Report.
Another major landmark in increasing lifespan came with the development of vaccines and antibiotics to prevent and treat disease, Kazanjian noted.
One major landmark in increasing lifespan came with the development of vaccines and antibiotics to prevent and treat disease, experts say. (iStock)
“Jenner developed the smallpox vaccine in 1796, Pasteur created vaccines for rabies and anthrax in the 1880s, and several scientists created vaccines for polio, measles, influenza, mumps and rubella in the mid 1900s,” she said.
“Antibiotics proliferated in the 1940s, specifically penicillin and tetracycline. By 1950, the US life expectancy was about 68 years old.”
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From the mid-20th century to 2014, life expectancy continued to rise, Kazanjian said, largely due to “major gains” in medical knowledge of ways to prevent heart disease and stroke.
Public health campaigns promoting smoking cessation also played a role, as declining smoking rates helped reduce deaths from lung cancer, heart disease and stroke, according to the CDC.
“Motor vehicles became safer and carseats became staples,” Kazanjian noted.
Modern longevity is more focused on preventing chronic disease and less about surviving childhood infections. (iStock)
According to the National Institutes of Health, advances in emergency medical services and trauma care have substantially reduced deaths after serious injuries.
Development of pharmaceuticals for cardiovascular disease and cancer also contributed to longer lives, according to Kazanjian.
Today’s longevity challenges
Modern longevity is more focused on preventing chronic disease and less about surviving childhood infections, noted Nneoma Oparaji, MD, a triple board-certified media physician specializing in obesity, lifestyle and internal medicine.
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“The next frontier will be less about living longer, but more about living healthier longer,” Houston-based Oparaji told Fox News Digital.
Kazanjian pointed out that between 2014 and 2026, there has been a fall and a rise in lifespan.
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“The fall was due to young adult deaths from drug overdoses, particularly the opioid epidemic, suicides and alcohol-related deaths,” she told Fox News Digital.
The COVID-19 pandemic reduced U.S. life expectancy by more than two years between 2019 and 2021 before it began recovering, CDC data shows.
Advances in sanitation, clean water, nutrition, vaccination and medical care have contributed to lower mortality rates. (iStock)
Although U.S. life expectancy has rebounded since the pandemic, it remains below that of other high-income countries, largely because of higher death rates from chronic diseases, substance use and other preventable causes, according to KFF.
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Obesity rates also continue to climb, contributing to higher numbers of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer, Kazanjian said.
“Most concerning is the rise in obesity in children,” she added.
“The next frontier will be less about living longer, but more about living healthier longer.”
Changing cancer trends are also affecting lifespan among younger adults, data shows.
“My generation, the millennials, has seen an unprecedented rise in young adult cancers, particularly colon and breast,” Kazanjian said, citing factors that include sedentary lifestyles, poor diet, alcohol, obesity and smoking, among others.
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The doctor said she aims to raise public health awareness of ways to improve lifespan.
“We need to get off our screens, move around more, eat a whole food, plant-based diet, sleep seven hours a night, do our screening exams, and avoid toxins like alcohol and cigarettes.”
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We are officially living in the “maxxing” era.
From “looksmaxxing” to improve appearance to “sleepmaxxing” for better rest, these viral terms all point to the same goal: squeezing every ounce of potential out of a specific trait or habit.
With a growing focus on optimizing wellness and maximizing longevity, the trend has evolved into what’s known as “humanmaxxing,” sparking a bigger question: How far can people go to optimize the human body?
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While there is no single definition of humanmaxxing, the trend generally refers to efforts to optimize health, performance and longevity through a combination of lifestyle habits, health tracking, supplements and, in some cases, more experimental interventions.
While there is no single definition of humanmaxxing, the trend generally refers to efforts to optimize health, performance and longevity through a combination of lifestyle habits, health tracking, supplements and, in some cases, more experimental interventions. (iStock)
For some, the movement begins with biohacking. According to Dave Asprey, a Texas-based wellness expert who refers to himself as the “father of biohacking,” optimizing your body starts with changing your environment.
Asprey has defined biohacking as “the art and science of changing the environment around you or inside you so that you have full control of your own biology.”
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His public advice focuses on boosting cellular energy through everyday choices like intermittent fasting, high-fat diets, red-light therapy and supplement routines.
“My goal right now is 180 years, because I’m doing something about it now instead of waiting,” he once said.
Clinical experts warn that extreme self-experimentation skips the rigorous safety checks that typical medical science requires. (iStock)
Others have embraced a more data-driven approach. Tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson, creator of the multimillion-dollar longevity project Blueprint in Los Angeles, argues that optimizing the body means removing human error from health decisions and instead relying on medical data.
“Methodically, we sought to build an algorithm with science and data that could better care for me than I can myself,” Johnson wrote on his website. “My mind did not have the authority to override the algorithm.”
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Johnson’s routine involves tracking hundreds of health metrics, eating a precisely measured diet, taking dozens of supplements, and undergoing advanced medical treatments in an effort to reduce his biological age.
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At the far end of the spectrum are those investing in technologies aimed at pushing the limits of human performance.
London-based tech investor Christian Angermayer recently described humanmaxxing as a strategy toward human maximization.
Tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson, creator of the multimillion-dollar longevity project Blueprint, argues that optimizing the body means removing human error from health decisions and instead relying on medical data. (iStock)
“I don’t think we should become something different, because I think humans are awesome, but I think we can maximize the potential [that] is already in us,” he said in an interview with The New York Times.
Angermayer’s investment firm, Apeiron Investment Group, focuses on technologies intended to help people “live longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives.” He also founded atai Life Sciences, a biotechnology company that develops psychedelic treatments for mental health conditions that are currently being evaluated in clinical trials.
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As interest in humanmaxxing grows, mainstream health experts urge consumers to separate evidence-based wellness practices from experimental interventions.
Public guidance from the National Institute on Aging notes that while some anti-aging therapies have shown promise in laboratory research, there is not yet sufficient evidence that they can safely extend human life.
As interest in humanmaxxing grows, mainstream health experts urge consumers to separate evidence-based wellness practices from experimental interventions. (iStock)
Clinical experts also caution that extreme self-experimentation can bypass the rigorous safety standards applied to conventional medical treatments.
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According to the Endocrine Society, taking substances such as testosterone or growth hormone without a medical need can lead to serious health risks, including cardiovascular complications and long-term disruption of the body’s chemical balance.
While many humanmaxxing habits overlap with standard healthy lifestyle practices, experts say consumers should be cautious of expensive or experimental interventions that promise dramatic anti-aging or longevity benefits without strong scientific evidence.
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